Where You Belong
by Kimmiko16
Summary: This is a one Shot story that my Friend made me for my Birthday! AkashaChan I loves you! This is a Seto Kaiba X OC story. So if you want to review this I will pass it along to her! Thanks


This is my first One-Shot ever, but I can assure you that it's not the last one I would appreciate if you'd message me and tell me what's wrong. But you don't have to, if you don't want to.

Anyways; this special One-Shot is dedicated to one of my closest friends here, on Quizilla. I've met her by reading her Zolo (from One Piece) story, which I liked back then and still like very much. Although she's older, she hadn't treated me like someone not worthy exchanging messages with from time to time. I can't remember for how long we've been talking to each other, but I guess it doesn't matter. You know who am I talking about? No? Okay then, I'll tell you.

KIMMI-CHAN, AKA KIMMIKO16

Yes, yes; it's her. And the reason for writing this One-Shot is to celebrate her 18 Birthday. That's right; she's officially an adult. Well, what to say more? Kimmi-chan – Happy Birthday.

_Wishing You a very Happy Birthday,  
May all Your wishes come true.  
All the joy You give to others  
Return right back to You._

"We turn not older with years but newer every day." - _Emily Dickenson_

Kimmiko sighed, as she stood in front of the building that most of the students loathed; the school. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to stay at home, to take care of her only friend – her horse Alex, who was still feeling a bit uncomfortable with the new surrounding. It was his first serious plane trip and he's been quite disorientated since they've landed. Truth be told, so was Kimmiko. After all, the flight from Michigan to Japan, Tokyo, was very long and boring. But, her parents just HAD to move away from their home and, at the moment, just HAD to force Kimmiko out of the new house. And there she thought that they'd spare her and give her a day off to get used to the climate. '_Psh,_'

"Hn. Move it," Kimmiko nearly jumped out of her skin as a cold voice came from behind her. She twirled around angrily, her infamous death-glare ready to strike. However, she had to surpass a yelp of surprise as she came face-to-face with a tall boy, around her age, which had dark brown hair shadowing his face. He was standing closer than she expected, his icy blue eyes glaring down at her. Kimmiko's face stretched into a scowl.

"Move yourself," she said calmly, matching his glare. In the corner of her eye, she noticed a shiny black limousine which had disappear around the corner; also, she took notice of the rude boy's fancy clothing. '_Rich snob,_' she mused, adding 2 to 2.

"Loser," the boy muttered coldly to himself and beginning to walk forward, but Kimmiko was far from finishing.

"You should say it to my face, you impolite jerk." she snapped "Or maybe you're too afraid to do so? Can't look into my eyes while insulting me?"

The boy paused and faced her once again. His glare hardened, but Kimmiko didn't even flinch; she stood her ground firmly, not breaking the eye-contact.

"Hn. Stop barking like that, you remind me of a mutt." With that, the boy walked past her, 'accidentally' hitting Kimmiko on the shoulder. She huffed quietly, following his retreating figure with her strong gaze. As he disappeared in the crowd which was heading towards the main entry of the school. Soon, Kimmiko decided to follow, replaying the directions to the Principal's Office she'd received from a random guy. As she passed a bunch of circled girls, she could hear them whispering something:

"The new girl... I saw her talking with Kaiba-kun!"

"Really? No way!"

"Yeah! And, I heard that she was so rude towards him!"

"Rude? Towards THE Seto Kaiba?! Boy, she has guts!"

Smirking slightly to herself, Kimmiko made her way to the Principal's Office, thinking '_Seto Kaiba, huh? I have a weird feeling that I'll have to deal with you again... Really soon..._'. Boy, how right she was! 

(-)

Her heart was beating fast, she could clearly hear the rush of her own blood in her veins. She gulped, feeling her stomach twist painfully. '_Relax, stupid!_' She scolded herself mentally, glaring at the classroom door, desperately trying to calm down '_It's a new school. That means new people. They don't know me. Everything will be fine... Maybe this time, I'll..._' she straightened up her silhouette and gathered the whole courage she could muse, surpassing the urge to turn around and escape. With one confident push, she opened the door and walked in, her eyes focused forward.

"Ah, here you are!" the teacher, a middle-aged woman said, turning to her "Class, we have a new students. She came here from Michigan. Please welcome, Thunders, Kimberly."

"It's Kimmiko, since yesterday and probably for the rest of my life," Kimmiko chimed in calmly, gazing at the class coldly. '_What a drag..._' she thought, noticing the curious looks she'd been receiving, along with few smiles. The last reaction didn't help her relax; quite the opposite, actually. She tensed up even more. '_It's like the last time... Their smiles... They irritate me_'

"Uhh... Right. Miss Thunders, please take a seat next to miss Fuyutsuki and we'll resume the lesson," the teacher smiled unsurely and Kimmiko crossed her arms, looking at her flatly. "Miss Fuyutsuki, raise your hand." No hand flew up into the air, the class was completely silent "Miss Fuyutsuki?"

"She's sleeping, as usual," someone stated dully and all eyes landed on the sleeping girl, who was sitting somewhere in the back; her head was buried in her crossed arms, her short black hair was covering her pale face. The biology book was opened on a random page and was supposed to hide the girl from the teacher's view.

"Fuyutsuki, Nemuri!!" the teacher's voice boomed through the classroom and the sleeping girl snapped up, eyes wide, and with a startled yelp, she fell off of the chair. The class laughed at that and Kimmiko snorted. The girl, Nemuri, got up, brushed off her clothes and sat down on the chair, her face purely innocent.

"Yes?" she asked sweetly, making the class roar with laughter once more.

"Extra homework for you, Fuyutsuki," the teacher said angrily, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples.

"Whatever happened to 'miss'?" Nemuri murmured, winking playfully at Kimmiko. She couldn't help but smirk in amusement. '_What a wicked girl..._'

Just then, Kimmiko noticed the boy from earlier, the 'Seto Kaiba' sitting at the very back, staring at his laptop and typing something quietly. He smirk faded slightly. '_Jackass_' shrugging it off, the girl took a seat next to Nemuri, who was now wide awake, the small grin never leaving her face. Kimmiko opened her book and started writing what the teacher had been saying, thinking ahead of her. She was always the smart one. She seemed like she knew the answers to all the questions ever asked. However, it wasn't as great as everyone thought it is; whenever Kimmiko had a rough day and didn't score 100 at something, the kids were making fun of her, the stupid jokes, like 'Whatever happened to your brain? Overload?' and the teachers had been showing clearly that she'd disappointed them.

A piece of paper folded in a ball landed on her opened book, making her jump slightly. She glanced at the direction where it came from and saw Nemuri winking at her playfully. Raising an eyebrow, Kimmiko unfolded the paper and read:

"**_So, you're the chick that stood up to THE Kaiba, huh?_**"

The letters were messy and each had their own size. Smirking lightly to herself, she replied, letters forming small and elegant under her pen:

"_Yep that would be me. Had a nice sleep?_"

Kimmiko passed the note, patiently waiting for an answer.

"**_Sweet. You have balls, girl xD If it wasn't for the interruption, I'd kiss Matthew Lillard_**"

Kimmiko surpassed a snort after reading Nemuri's reply. "_Then, I'm sorry._"

"**_Nah, it's okay. I'll get him next time. My next class is math..._**" 

(-)

Lunchtime. Students flooded the corridor, wanting to get to the lunchroom as soon as they could, to be the first ones in the line for food. Everybody was crowding in front of the door, smiling, laughing and chatting with each other. 

Kimmiko waited in the English class as the students were slowly vanishing from the classroom. To her displeasure Seto Kaiba, who had English with her, was packing up slowly, and zipping up everything perfectly.

"What are you staring at?" his cold voice snapped her back to reality and she turned her head away abruptly, feeling her face heating up slightly from embarrassment; true, she unconsciously DID stare.

"I wasn't staring at YOU, I was just thinking," Kimmiko commented dryly "I simply spaced out, so don't flatter yourself."

Kaiba smirked at this, throwing his backpack through his shoulder. "Don't let your mind wander too much. It's too small to be let out on its own." He said smugly, making his way towards the door as everybody already excited the room. Kimmiko twitched, glaring fiercely at is retreating figure. '_Not so fast, smart-ass!_'

"Why don't you slip into something more comfortable... Like a coma, and leave me alone?" she uttered, feeling satisfied with her comeback.

Seto simply 'hn'ed. "Forgive me, but I don't talk to low-lives such as yourself," and with that, he left the classroom, leaving Kimmiko with her triumphant smirk alone. Alone.

Her smirk quickly faded away and a wave of cold washed over her body. She braced herself with her arms, breathing slightly faster. The cold was reaching further and further within her... Loneliness. Loneliness surrounding her heart.

"Yo, Kimmi-chan," Kimmiko's head snapped upwards, her brows furrowed together. '_Who the hell dared calling me -_' she saw Nemuri leaning against the door, her stormy gray eyes watching Kimmiko curiously.

"Hn. Don't call me that." Kimmiko said sternly, crossing her arms.

"Okay, okay, sheesh! " Nemuri rolled her eyes "I haven't seen you in the hall, so I got worried you might've got lost,"

"Well, the first and oh-so-fun day at school was so exciting, I haven't had the strength to tear my way with my elbows," Kimmiko said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Nemuri snorted. "Oh, I'm sure. Are you hungry?"

"No, not really." Kimmiko responded shrugging, but then, as if on cue, her stomach made a growling sound. Both girls had an anime-like sweat-drop rolling down the back of their heads.

"I guess THAT meant that we'll be on our way." The brunette smiled smugly, nodding at Kimmiko to follow. She hesitated a bit, but decided to do so nonetheless.

"The lunchroom is always full, so we'll go outside," Nemuri stated, her hands shoved into the pockets of her uniform pants.

"I thought that girls are supposed to wear skirts here, aren't they?" Kimmiko asked, eyeing the girl's dark blue pants.

"Well, true, but man, it's good to have the aunt working here as a secretary," Nemuri replied, smiling mischievously and winking at Kimmiko. "Why aren't _you_ wearing a skirt, miss Thunders?"

"I don't," Kimmiko said simply, smirking a bit. "I'm the poor new student who has trouble with adjusting herself in the new climate of Tokyo."

Nemuri grinned. "Lucky,"

They've excited the building and Kimmiko sat down in the pleasant shadows of a big tree, leaning against it. Nemuri looked around cautiously.

"Wait here a bit, mm kay? I'll be right back," and she went off, disappearing in the small crowd of people. Kimmiko sighed pulling her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around her knees. The people talked happily, everyone was smiling. They were surrounded by friends, joking around and having fun. Cold loneliness crept closer and closer to her heart...

"Hell-loo? Anyone in there?"

Kimmiko blinked. She looked up and saw a big, red apple in front of her nose. Nemuri was staring down at her, smiling. She had an apple as well, they both looked pretty fresh.

"Thanks, I guess..." Kimmiko uttered quietly and took the fruit, taking a bite. Nemuri sat down next to her cross-legged, also munching on the apple. They remained silent, eating, but after a while, Kimmiko remembered something and began:

"You wrote that I have balls to stand up to Kaiba. Why? Did anyone ever do that before me?"

"Well, you see, he has the power, the money. Usually, people are afraid and decide it's best to stay out of his way. It's like an unwritten rule, decided by the gods when HE was born. Plus... He has the authority. Respect him and live happily." Nemuri explained calmly, taking another huge bite.

Kimmiko raised her eyebrows, turning to look at the girl next to her. "And you?"

"I'm an exception, see, I screw authority. I follow my own way." Nemuri pointed at herself with her thumb, then pointing at Kimmiko "You should stick to it, too, and you'll become another independent woman, who could change the world. Like, Marie Curie Skłodowska, Amelia Mary Earhart, Jeanne d'Arc, Hojo Masako and Margaret Thatcher or be just like the Charlie's Angels and such. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to do big things in the future."

Kimmiko sweat-dropped, staring at Nemuri blankly. "You know... You talk way too much."

Nemuri also sweat-dropped, but shrugged. "You know... You have the nerves of steel."

Kimmiko sighed as the silence fell between them once again. She lifted her eyes and looked around. Everyone was so happy... '_Damn, why everybody's smiling about? Are they happy that they've lost weight, because their brains had vapoured?_' she thought, irritated. '_Good thing Fuyutsuki isn't so happy-go-lucky, or else I'd lose my mind!_'

"No offence, but I've seen more life in a down and out's vest," Nemuri spoke up suddenly, throwing the eaten apple through her shoulder. Kimmiko twitched.

"Ha ha, Fuyutsuki. Ha, ha." She said sarcastically, frowning. Nemuri shrugged, got up and dusted her clothes, then reached out for Kimmiko to help her stand up. Thunders smirked, standing up on her own and walking past Nemuri, hearing a muffled mutter, "Yep, real independence alright,". 

(-)

Seto Kaiba hung up and put his cell phone into his pocket. He turned around the corner and spotted the new girl, Kimmiko or whatever, and the Fuyutsuki girl standing in front of her. Soon, the second one turned and vanished somewhere. '_That Fuyutsuki reminds me or wind... I can feel her passing by, but I can't see her... Pathetic,_' Seto mused, eyes shifting to the girl that had left under the tree. Thunders. He scowled. He didn't like her, at all. When he saw her in front of the school, she seemed so lost... So helpless.

Seto watched as her face suddenly lost her sheet of cold, emotionless expression. It was now... Kind of depressed. As if she's took off a mask and revealed her true emotions. It was a huge change, she looked... Sad. Soon, Fuyutsuki had came up to her and gave her an apple. She sat next to Thunders and began talking. Fuyutsuki seemed to talk the new girl nearly to death. Then, Thunders spaced out again and Fuyutsuki said something that made her twitch. The first girl threw away the apple and stood up, offering help to the new girl. She refused, standing up on her own. This made Kaiba smirk slightly to himself. '_Playing independent, are we?_' Shrugging these thoughts off, he turned around and entered the school just as the bell rang. 

(-)

RRRRIIIINNNNGGGG

"Woot! The end of Hell!" Nemuri cried out enthusiastically, punching the air.

Kimmiko raised her eyebrows. "You seem suddenly filled with life, Fuyutsuki," she stated, watching the girl. Soon, the other students filled the hall and Nemuri calmed down, walking next to Kimmiko, her eyes focused on the floor.

"Um..." she began lamely "I'll be going now, to my locker. See you tomorrow, miss Thunders," Nemuri sent a playful wink towards Kimmiko and disappeared in the crowd, bumping into people occasionally.

Kimmiko closed her locker with a sigh and made her way towards the exit. She stopped in the main hall, looking around. It was empty, if not count a group of girls, who were chatting excitedly about something.

"Like, do you _really_ think that?" one of them asked.

"Yes, absolutely!" the other two said, nodding their heads.

"Oh my gosh, I really want to look the best on my date with Akito-kun..." the first one sighed dreamily "I'm thinking of going on a diet for him, I love him so much... You think I should?"

"I suggest you get rid of your brain. You don't use it, anyway," Kimmiko uttered calmly, walking past them. Their heads snapped towards her, a shocked and angered expression on their faces.

"What did you just said, new girl?!" the leader girl screeched, glaring at Kimmiko.

"My, you don't have any other insults? There's lots of them in the dictionary, try reading it at least from time to time." Kimmiko rolled her eyes.

"Why you stupid..."

"'Stupid' is so overused," Kimmiko cut the girl off, sighing "Here, let me help," She took a breath and uttered clearly, "You are a cruelly naive libertine and a wearisome, dull-witted mutilation of decency."

"Wha...?" the girls stared at her dully. "Just what did you said? That we're some... naive... weirdos?!"

"In other words... Yeah, something along the lines," Thunders said smugly, sending a sharp glare at the girls.

"Yeah, well you're a... A... A brain-loaded, nerdy bitch!" the tall girl screamed, fuming.

"Oh, save your breath. You'll need it to blow up your date," and with that, Kimmiko slammed the door behind her, leaving the red with anger girls behind.

Kimmiko walked slowly, enjoying the nice weather. The multi-colored leaves were whirling before her, moved by the wind. All of a sudden, she heard footsteps behind her. Without stopping, Kimmiko put her guard up. '_If it's one of those dumbass guys from school, or another brainless scum-of-a-female, I swear, I'll..._'

"Cruelly naive libertine? Dull-witted mutilation of decency? You've used some big words back there," she recognized the voice right away; biting back a groan, Kimmiko turned around, her eyes meeting Kaiba's icy ones.

"What do you want, Kaiba?" she demanded "Where's the limo which carries your rich ass here and there, huh?"

"Since when do you, of all people, care?" he responded with a question.

"I don't," Kimmiko snapped, feeling her patience slowly sipping away.

"Then don't ask questions, as if you do," Seto scowled and resumed walking, his eyes fixed forward.

"Hn," Kimmiko said simply, crossing her arms and waited until Kaiba disappeared out of her sight. '_He's so annoying..._'

**- Two weeks later, math-**

"Let's see..." the teacher, a middle-aged man with glasses put on his nose, searched through some papers. "Aha! Well, The test went pretty fine. Mr. Seto Kaiba got the perfect score, as always, along with our new student, miss Kimberly Thunders –"

"It's Kimmiko," Kimmiko butted in, looking rather uninterested.

"Yes, yes, miss _Kimmiko_ Thunders..." the teacher corrected himself "I want to congratulate you. I'm sure it's been pretty tough to catch up with the material during only two days. You did well." '_Blah blah blah, yap yap yap..._' Kimmiko thought, playing with her pen, her eyes fixed on the wall dully. The teacher passed her the test, a big red '100' in the right corner. She heard a loud gulp from beside her. Kimmiko glanced that way and saw Nemuri, her face was deathly pale, and her hands were shaking. And, the whole body joined soon, as the teacher went on with the list.

"Fuyutsuki... " Kimmiko whispered "What's wrong?"

"I... I... I didn't pass..." Nemuri whispered back, her wide, fearful eyes glued to the teacher.

"What are you talking abo –"

"And, lastly, Nemuri Fuyutsuki," the teacher sighed tiredly and Nemuri looked like she'd die of a heart attack any minute now. "You... You scored 51 percent."

"That means..." Fuyutsuki stopped breathing for a moment "That means... I PASS!!! HELL YEAH!!!" she jumped in her seat, laughing hysterically.

"Now, now, calm down, miss Fuyutsuki," the teacher said sternly, but smiled. Kimmiko sweat-dropped. '_She's so happy over 51? I guess that she DOES suck at math..._' she watched the teacher hand the test to the bewildered but joyful Nemuri, his warm smile widening at the sight of her happiness. Kimmiko surpassed a frown. The teachers in her old schools **never** smiled at her like that. They've been just showing how much they were displeased when something went wrong, whenever she had failed – she, the smartest girl in school! It was just too obvious that whatever Kimberly will do; it'll be done perfectly. There was nothing to celebrate about. But, when she didn't score 100 at something... She had seen disappointment in her teacher's eyes. 'Kimberly Thunders... What's happening with you lately? You're the best student in our school, you should keep it up and not slack off. Try harder next time and make us proud.' She had been hearing this all the time, even when her score was 99!

"Hey, Kimmi-chan!" Kimmiko snapped out of her memories and glared at Nemuri, who had a wide grin on her face "C'mon, let's go have something sweet!" she took Kimmiko's arm and began dragging her as the lunch bell rang through the building.

"One vanilla-chocolate ice-cream with a toffee sauce and..." Nemuri turned to Kimmiko, who was standing near, her arms crossed and face stretched into a scowl "What would you like, Kimmi-chan?"

"Stop calling me that," Kimmiko responded coldly "And I don't want anything."

"Okay then," Nemuri shrugged and returned to the clerk "So, that and a strawberry ice-cream, please,"

Kimmiko's glare hardened. "I said –"

"Here you go!" the young male clerk smiled, eyeing Kimmiko with interest.

"Thank you!" Nemuri sang, taking the ice-cream and walking off. Kimmiko followed, not even sparing a mere glance at the clerk. '_So annoying..._'

"You know... For a second there, you sounded pretty friendly!" Nemuri said sweetly, indicating to the math lesson "'What's wrong?'"

"Shut up," Kimmiko snapped, licking the strawberry flavor angrily. She couldn't say no; Nemuri already bought it and, well, it was _strawberry_. You can't say no to strawberry. "You seemed... Pale and somewhat sick, so I just..."

"A-HA!" Nemuri jumped, pointing her index finger at Kimmiko "So you _cared_?"

"No." Thunders simply said, closing her eyes and sighing irritably.

"Don't you just love talking, Kimmi-chan?" Nemuri rolled her eyes, swallowing the last bite of the ice-cream cone.

"If you call me 'Kimmi-chan' once again, I'll tell the math teacher that you've cheated." Kimmiko's voice was dripping with annoyance and an anime-style vein popped on the side of her forehead.

"You wouldn't!" Nemuri gasped, gaping at her friend with wide eyes "You aren't THAT heartless!"

"Wanna bet?" Kimmiko smirked evilly. After that, they fell quiet, but soon, the sweet, calm silence was broke by Nemuri,

"I think that you're just looking for your place."

"What?" Kimmiko's head snapped towards Fuyutsuki. She could completely mask the shock in her eyes and voice, but she couldn't surpass the twist her stomach made.

"You heard me; you're not the only one, though. Everybody's trying to find their place," Nemuri stood up and stretched, then shoved her hands into her pockets, shielding them from the wind. "People tend to try to be somebody else in order to suit somewhere. It's the basic mistake," her short hair swished as she turned her head to look at the silent Kimmiko, a small but sincere smile on her lips "You just got to be happy with yourself." Still with a warm smile on, she sent a wink at her friend "Seems to me, you're not so very far," Nemuri turned around and started walking off and leaving the speechless Kimmiko on the bench. "See ya tomorrow," 

(-)

_"Ooh, lookie here, little miss Thunders got only 99? Oh my gosh, is the world going to end?"_

"Tsk, tsk, Kimberly. You let us all down,"

"Yeah, next time try actually reading the book... Oh, sorry? You said you did? Oh, you got it all memorized, I see... That must've been hard,"

"Geez, if I were a nerd like her, I'd learn how to have **fun**,"

"Miss Thunders, we do understand that you may have problems at home but... Don't abandon your talent. It's a serious matter."

"The entire school's opinion is in your hands."

"Don't let us down, Kimberly Thunders."

Kimmiko kicked a nearby rock with so much force, it crashed after hitting a tree. She was almost at home, but she was walking slowly, deep in thoughts. Flashbacks ran through her mind like an endless movie, quotes were unnaturally loud. She hated it. Each and every of her schools were like that. A pain. And to think that after changing the school 4 times she'd learn something more than sarcastic, mean come-backs and ways to defend herself physically...

But, Nemuri appeared. What she said was circling around Kimmiko's mind like a broken record.

**_"Everybody's trying to find their place,"  
"People tend to try to be somebody else in order to suit somewhere. It's the basic mistake,"  
"You just got to be happy with yourself."_**

"No! That's mine! Let go!"

Kimmiko's head shot up, alarmed. Someone was shouting and laughs were heard, not too far from the spot she was standing. Without hesitation, she ran towards the source of the noise, immediately spotting two big guys surrounding a little boy, who was jumping in order to get back his backpack.

"Heh, higher, you little monkey!" one of the bullies laughed loudly, the other joined soon.

"Hey! You should try picking on someone your own size," Kimmiko uttered calmly, though in the inside, she was boiling. The guys turned around abruptly and she continued, "Or, since whales can't walk on land, why don't you try me?" **Credits for this quote goes to Kimmiko16 herself! I kinda stole it, but couldn't resist; I hope she'll forgive me... . SORRRY, KIMMI-CHAN!**

"Who... Hey, sweetie." The first one winked, oblivious to her insult.

Kimmiko grunted, disgusted. "Ew, don't do that. I'll be having dinner in 15 minutes and I can feel my appetite slipping away,"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" the first guy dropped the kid's backpack and started walking towards her. His friend didn't move, holding the little boy so he wouldn't try to escape.

"I hate repeating myself!" Kimmiko stood her ground unmoving, glaring at the guy.

"You know what? You're a stupid bitch, that's what you are,"

"You know what?" Kimmiko mocked, "You are an egregiously uncivilized twit and a debased blight upon society."

The guy stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes bulging out on the girl. "Whaa...?!"

"Geez, does everyone acts like idiots in this city?" Thunders sighed "Let him go."

The second bully twitched as she addressed him, but didn't move nonetheless.

"I said, let him GO."

A fist came down on her, but she managed to catch it in her own, stepping aside and dodging another punch. She twirled around, so her back was facing the guy who had tried to hit her, and focused her whole body weight on her legs, taking a firm hold on his arm. Bending down, she threw him over and let go, running towards the second opponent. He grunted and left the boy, taking an aim at her face. She dodged gracefully and came up behind him. Her elbow made contact with the back of his skull and the bully fell on the ground, unconscious.

"Come on, kid," not wanting to have any more trouble, Kimmiko grabbed the little boy's hand and began to run forward, not really thinking where. However, the first guy had already got up on all fours, shaking his head to get rid of the stars dancing in front of his eyes.

"You stupid little –"

"Who's stupid, imbecile?! " she yelled, punching him on the back of his head without stopping, taking aim just below his skull; the weak point of the body. Immediately, just like his companion, he hit the ground, unconscious. 

(-)

"Um... thanks for that..."

"No sweat, kid,and " Kimmiko cut the boy off nonchalantly "It wasn't that big of a deal,"

He shook his head, his messy black hair flying around. "No, no! That was brilliant! You were... WOW!" he said excitedly, the shyness long gone and forgotten.

"Uh... Thanks," Kimmiko said timidly, scratching her cheek. It was the first time she had received a compliment about her fighting skills; which she still needed to work on. "Why did they attack you in the first place?"

"Well, I don't know. Maybe that's because my brother has a big company and we're rich..." the boy uttered quietly.

"What's your name, anyways?" Thunders asked, crossing her arms. '_Brother? A company? Just WHO is this kid...?_'

"I'm Mokuba." The boy, Mokuba said "Mokuba Kaiba."

"Ka- KAIBA?" Kimmiko's eyes widened.

"Yeah... My brother's name is Seto... Do you possibly know him?" Mokuba questioned, his eyebrows raised.

"Yes, we attend the same school," '_Unfortunately..._'

"That's cool!" Mokuba said, smiling at Kimmiko.

"Gee, you think so?" Sarcasm dripped from her sentence as she rolled her eyes.

Before anyone had the chance to say or do anything, a shining black limo stopped near them and one of the window shields rolled down, revealing Seto's slightly worried face.

"Mokuba, where... What are _you_ doing here?" he demanded, glaring at Kimmiko, who gladly did the same.

"Seto!" Mokuba cried out happily "You wouldn't believe it! Some guys attached me, and –"

"Attacked you? Who was that?" Seto got out of the car in a flash, turning his softened gaze to his younger brother.

"No one I know. Anyway, they attacked me and she saved me! She beat them up!" the boy pointed at Kimmiko, who stared at him, irritation clearly visible all over her face. '_Yeah, tell that to everyone you know, why shouldn't you?_' she thought sarcastically as Mokuba explained the situation to his older brother.

"Mokuba, get into the car." Kaiba's stern voice rang through the air as he turned to Kimmiko, his icy eyes fixed on her equally cold brown ones.

"But, Seto –"

"Go," Mokuba lowered his head and entered the limo, secretly eavesdropping on his brother.

"That's true?" Seto asked after a while of silence.

"What if it is? " Kimmiko challenged, her eyes never leaving his as the glaring contest continued.

"Then, I'd have to..." he paused, but soon continued, "I'd have to thank you. For saving my brother."

"Pardon? " Kimmiko blinked. "Could you repeat that?"

"Hn. Thank you, Thunders." Seto said quickly, turning on his heel and walking off to the car, leaving the speechless Kimmiko alone. Soon, she recovered from the shock and also started walking towards her home, hearing a muffled conversation behind:

"Seto, come on, offer her a ride home!"

"Mokuba, be quiet."

"But Seeetooo! I don't even know her name!"

"Tough for you,"

Kimmiko's lips stretched into a smirk as the limo rode off, disappearing around the corner. '_So, that jerk has a BROTHER! A polite and nice one! My gosh, they are so... So different,_'

**-One week later-**

_A girl was sitting in the empty bathroom for girls only, her silhouette curled up and shaking slightly. Her eyebrows were narrowed together dangerously, though she didn't cry; she was too strong for that. The bell rang in her ears, but she didn't stand up. 'Biology... I know what's it all about. I don't need to go there,' she thought angrily, glaring at the white wall before her. 'I don't need school, I don't need friends, either. Why the hell am I here, anyway?! she wandered, banging her fist against the floor furiously. 'Friends suck,  
As the loud voices of other kids faded away, the girl buried her head in the arms, a small sob escaping her throat._

Kimmiko pushed the main door, surprisingly finding them open. Shrugging off the suspicions mentally, she entered the drowned in darkness hall, looking around cautiously. '_Whoah, look at me, I'm breaking the rules by breaking into the school, I'm so cool,_' she thought sarcastically. It was already past 8, nearly 9 PM and she just HAD to forget her English notebook. She had a very important assignment to write and give it to the teacher the next day. Kimmiko couldn't believe that she plainly FORGOT to do that early. '_I guess Nemuri's rubbing off on me..._' she mused bitterly, reaching her locker. She opened it without any bigger problems and glanced inside. Surely enough, there was a notebook, laying there in the dark. Kimmiko took it and closed her locker, making sure that it's locked properly. Moving back to the door, she looked through the notebook; it was too dark to read, but something just couldn't stop bugging her from the inside. '_This notebook..._' She stopped dead in her tracks.

"Shit!" Kimmiko couldn't help but swear out loud, turning around sharply and running back to her locker. Opening it angrily again, she thrust the notebook inside, checking it once again, this time very intently. Beside the notebook that she'd threw a second ago, it was empty. Shutting the door close, Kimmiko swore again, this time under her breath. '_BIOLOGY._' 

(-)

Seto Kaiba kicked the wooden door open, glaring at everything around him. '_Of all days, I just had to leave my laptop in school TODAY, when I need it the most,_' he thought furiously, opening his locker. His laptop was laying there peacefully, as innocent as ever. '_Damn you,_' he thought bitterly, glaring daggers at the laptop. As if it had affected it, anyway.

Seto made his way towards the main door, holding his laptop firmly. He pushed, but the door didn't move. Narrowing his eyebrows, he pushed harder. Nothing. '_What the -_' Impatiently, he used all of his force to open the door. Still, they wouldn't move an inch. They were... locked. 

(-)

Kimmiko was furious. Not only that she'd move her butt from her nice, warm house outside, where was cold and wet, like it always had been in November, but she had returned to school! Just to find out that the missing notebook was probably laying somewhere back in her room.

Her eyes widened to the size of plates, when she noticed someone sitting by the main door. Putting her guard up, she took a step forward, her stomach twisting with nervousness. As soon as she stepped closer to the mysterious person, she thought that she'd flip.

"KAIBA?!" she snapped loudly, glaring at him. His head shot up immediately, his own eyes set in a fierce glare as well.

"Hn, Thunders. I should've known." He spat out coldly "Funny, isn't it?"

"What the hell do you mean?" she demanded harshly.

"Locking me in school? That's just plain hilarious, ha, ha." Seto's voice dripped with sarcasm as he refused to break the nasty glare contest.

"Mind explaining, Kaiba? 'Cause I have no idea what you're on about," Kimmiko uttered calmly, though impatiently. "Wait... Locking in? You mean we're LOCKED?!"

Kaiba's brows twitched up slightly. "So, it wasn't you? Then, who?"

Without a word, Thunders went up to the door and pushed them. '_No way..._' she thought panicky as she tried again and again, pushing harder. Soon, she gave up as her hands began to hurt a bit.

"What about the back door?" she questioned, her voice trembling with anger.

"Already checked. They're closed as well," was his response.

"Ugh," Kimmiko groaned, banging her fist against the shut door for the last time. '_Why me? Why HIM?! And, why TODAY, of all days??!!_' she thought, glaring at the polished wood. Near her, Seto watched her angrily, sighing with frustration. '_Of all people... I've ended up stuck with HER._'

Kimmiko sat down on the floor on the other side of the door, her arms crossed in front of her chest. She closed her eyes, thinking intently. When nothing came into her mind, she thought of a way to start a conversation.

"You know, since we're stuck like that, maybe we should... I don't know, talk the night away?" she began, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

"Hn." Was the response she got.

"Gee, talkative much?" she snorted, and fell quiet after that.

"Mokuba likes you a lot," Seto's voice snapped Kimmiko out of her thoughts. She blinked and glanced at him; he wasn't looking at her. "And, since you've introduced yourself properly..."

"Yeah, I've seen him around lately; he's a fine kid. It's a mystery how he's your brother, though," she replied calmly.

"How so?"

"Well, he's nice, polite, friendly and... Cute."

Seto turned his head to face Kimmiko, an annoyed expression on his face. "You know, you're not exactly the most innocent and flawless person in the world," he stated coldly.

"Oh, but I wasn't talking about _your_ flaws or whatsoever, I was describing Mokuba." Kimmiko replied smugly, also staring right into Kaiba's eyes. He just scowled at her and continued to ignore her. She shrugged and got lost in her musing once again.

"Hey..." Kimmiko began after a while "Who do you think would lock us in school for the night...?"

"I have no idea and I don't care; when I find him, I think I'll kill him." Kaiba replied harshly.

"Aren't you the subtle one, huh?" Kimmiko muttered under her breath.

"Why had you moved to Japan in the first place?" Seto uttered suddenly, casting a glance at the girl. He could see her tensing up, but she masked it well.

"It's none of your business, Kaiba!" Kimmiko found herself snapping at him, the warm feeling of fury washing over her body.

"Hn, I was _just_ trying to "talk the night away", as you've said," Seto snapped back "No need to be bitchy."

Kimmiko fell silent, for the first time feeling... ashamed for her actions. It was a touchy subjects for her, she didn't want to talk about it. And especially _not_ with Kaiba! Unfortunately for her, her mouth seemed to have a life of its own and words started pouring out, coming straight from her soul:

"I... I was always the smartest kid in class. I was always scoring the maximum number of points. The kids didn't like that. I was shadowing them all, stealing all the 'glory'... They were envious. They hated me. And I... I grew up hating them, too. I didn't want to get too fond of anyone, afraid that they'll only hurt me..." Kimmiko paused, not wanting to continue, but the words were unstoppable by now "I had changed schools several times, each time more and more lonely. There were a couple of people that had wanted to befriend me, but I had been pushing them aside, being mean and... bitchy..." a ghost of a smirk flashed on her lips "I had been so afraid... I didn't want to be hurt... I thought that loneliness isn't that sad, but... Ah, it's hard to describe."

"I understand."

Kimmiko turned her surprised eyes to Seto, who was staring at her intently. For once, his blue eyes weren't sharp and set in a glare. For the first time, they were... soft and sparkling slightly. She gazed into his beautiful eyes, before realizing what she was doing and blushing deep red. Quickly turning her head away, she broke the silence,

"So, um... " Kimmiko couldn't believe; she felt actually _embarrassed_! "What now?"

Seto opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. Instead, his eyes went wide and he shoved his hand down his pocket, searching for something furiously. With raised eyebrows, Kimmiko watched him taking out... His cell phone.

"WHAT THE -" she couldn't help but yell out. She had just made an idiot out of herself sounding so pathetic and there he was, holding a cell phone – their way out. Judging from Seto's shocked, then angry face, he **forgot** that it was in his pocket all the time. "Oh my God, you must be from the shallow end of the gene pool." She snapped at him, not so completely forgetting about her embarrassment.

"Well, you have the warm personal charm of a millipede," Seto retorted, picking a number on his phone. It didn't make ANY sound. Kaiba glanced at it and his heart skipped a beat.

"There are two requirements to be a smart ass, don't worry though. You got the second part down," Kimmiko fired back, but gulped after seeing Seto's frozen face.

"The battery... It's... gone," he whispered harshly.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, 'IT'S GONE'?!" Kimmiko lost her cool, crawling next to Kaiba and glaring at the cell in his hand. The screen was blank.

"Someone stole it!" Seto shouted "It was here today afternoon!"

"Who would've stole _only_ the battery?!"

"How should I know?!"

They exchanged glares, turning their heads in the opposite directions. Kimmiko felt guilt squeezing her stomach; it _wasn't_ his fault that the battery's gone. She shouldn't have yell at him like that... '_When I've started caring, actually?!_' she thought, pouring her anger on herself '_Maybe I should... Apologize... Or something..._'

"Look, Kaiba -"

Their eyes met, but not in the usual glaring match. This time, it was different. It was as if they'd known each other since forever. The embarrassment returned; she opened her heart to a, well... To a complete stranger. She had known him for around 3 weeks! But, then again... Kaiba was a really good listener. He'd listened to her... And understood. It was a nice, warm feeling, which began to slowly overwhelm the eternal coldness around her heart. She had been understood. Not laughed at, or ignored. _Understood_.

"Listen, Thunders, -"

"Kaiba, I –"

Kimmiko blinked, surprised as their voices mixed with perfect timing. So, words were useless... In the same time, fully little butterflies began to circle in their stomachs.

Both of them leaned closer, still looking into other's eyes deeply. Their faces flushed red as their noses nearly touched. Kimmiko tilted her head a bit to the side, feeling her heart pounding in her chest, nearly breaking the ribcage. She felt Seto's warm breath tickling her trembling lips...

"NEMURI TO THE RESCUE!!" their heads fell forward, their foreheads smacking against each other. The front door made a clicking sound and flew open, a grinning Nemuri standing in the doorway.

"FUYUTSUKI!" Seto and Kimmiko yelled before they could stop themselves. Nemuri whistled.

"What? Did I break the moment, or something?" she asked cheekily, her eyes sparking with mischief.

Kimmiko groaned, massaging the sore spot on her forehead. '_Maybe that's good... Maybe it was a bit too soon..._' Seto stood up, glaring at the grinning Nemuri sharply, secretly thinking the same thing.

"Soooo," Fuyutsuki began, staring at their flustered faces knowingly. "Did you have fun?"

"No, as a matter of fact, we –" Kimmiko paused, her mind racing. Finally, it snapped. "You... Nemuri Fuyutsuki, was it _you_? Was this all _your_ idea?" she demanded, her voice low and dangerous.

Nemuri blinked at the change, her grin slowly fading away. "Well, you see, Kimmi-chan... I did this for you! It's my Birthday Present, for you! So, don't be angry... Heh..." she finished lamely as Kimmiko's glare was hard as steel. "Oh and, Kaiba... Here's your battery," Nemuri fished the battery from her pocket and threw it to Kaiba, who's glare was nearly as hard and cold as Kimmiko's. "You've dropped it." One wink later, Nemuri was gone. 

(-)

"That Fuyutsuki..." Seto growled under his breathe.

"Hn, yeah... So annoying and immature..." Kimmiko agreed, her eyes set firmly at the horizon line.

Silence overwhelmed them for a moment, but Kaiba broke it as his limousine appeared from behind the corner, "So... You want a ride home?"

Kimmiko couldn't help but smile as she felt Seto's warm hand brushing against her own. "Sure. I'd love that." 

THE END


End file.
